Trials of Trauma
by Shadow Sanctuary
Summary: Screams erupt from Kaiba's throat as he has horrible flashbacks from a time that tormented him and his brother. Can Joey snap the executive out of his abyss of confusion?
1. Rapture

CAUTION! PLEASE READ BEFORE VIEWING THE CONTENTS OF THIS STORY: This particular composition has very disturbing content in it. Please refer to the list below so that you will be fully informed of the situations that occur in this literature.

Specified Warnings:

-Situations present within this chapter: severe child abuse (both physical and psychological; involves molestation, painful torture with knives and miscellaneous objects), children attempting suicide, appalling flashbacks.

-Genre: Horror combined with Angst.

If you find any of this subject matter to be offensive, I strongly suggest that you seek another story to read. Writing is not just a hobby for me, it is a beautiful art, an intriguing skill that I hope to perfect until I am deemed a professional author. Please don't get me expelled from fanfiction.net just because you simply didn't care enough to read my statements of admonition. As always, I appreciate individuals who take the time to write a review for me. Above all, _constructive criticism_ is greatly valued, not illogical commentary (ex: vicious slander). Anyone who has any questions pertaining to my work, please e-mail me at shattered_sanctuary@hotmail.com . 

If you are still interested in viewing this literature, I more than welcome you to do so. Recite some of your most powerful prayers for Seto and Mokuba. They're going to need all the help they can get so they can escape the heavenly hell they are constantly exposed to...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter One: Rapture

"Niisan?"

Reacting to the vocalization of his beloved nickname, the young boy glanced at his sibling. "Yes?" 

"Do angels really live up there?"

Following the direction of his relative's eyes, Seto studied the endless atmosphere above. Sapphire orbs collided with the wild blue skies, appearing to be two gems buried deep within the depths of an ocean. Cream-colored clouds sailed overhead, rich formations that seemed to be foam on top of the gentle waves of air lolling through the realm of earth. Adding to the ethereal view, various sunbeams seeped through the milky white patches, showering the world below with the light of the good spirits. Never before had he witnessed such an exquisite sight, scenery so beautiful that not even the most talented artist on the planet could capture the absolute perfection of this hour of spring. Did angels truly exist? Of course they did. God's heavenly host of seraphs were surrounding both of them right now, bathing them in the iridescent rays of heaven's glow. Hopefully, they would do more than just illuminate the globe with their love and righteousness. Today was the day for him…for his brother, too. With their majestic wings spread out wide, the noble spirits of Eden would wrap their affectionate feathers around them, carrying them off to be with the creator in eternal paradise. All they had to do was meet their rapture in the middle of the road…

"Sure they do." answered Kaiba knowingly, turning his full attention to the little child by his side. "Don't you remember what Mother said?"

"That was such a long time ago, though."

"You mean to tell me you forgot already?" inquired the eldest male, expressing a look of surprise. "She told us so many great stories about God and Matthew, Luke, and John! How could you just not know them anymore?"

"I dunno." answered the shorter adolescent, giving his sibling a sheepish shrug. A hazy tint of rose splotched his cheeks, revealing his hidden embarrassment. "I guess Mommy's kisses meant more to me than all that other stuff." Shy indigo eyes looked into the cobalt orbs that were studying them, sparkling with painfully treasured memories. Recalling the warmth and security that his caretaker had provided him, he added softly, "Her hugs, too. They were always sweet and nice and kind, like the kinda place that I could stay asleep forever and ever in."

"You slept longer than that in her arms." 

"Nu-uh!"

"Yeah-huh!" countered the brown-haired individual, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "You _always _got to stay on her lap while I got the floor!"

"She gave you better bed time stories, though."

"But she came to each of our rooms at night." Seto reminded his sibling, gesturing with a free hand. "Mother tucked us into bed after singing or reading to us."

"I know, but she spent more time in your place than mine." Mokuba pointed out, frowning as he finished his sentence. Saddened by his realization, he blurted out, "Big brother, did Mommy love you more than me?"

Startled by the irrational group of words, Kaiba answered with a question of his own. "Why would you even think that?"

" 'Cause I remember how she'd sing you the prettiest lullabies and wait by your side 'til you fell asleep." Letting his vision drift to the ground, the longhaired boy studied the concrete of their driveway. Half distracted with the glittering mass of solid rock, he picked at a loose hangnail. "I was right down the hall, you know. It wasn't hard to listen in on what she said or did."

Detecting the tightness in his relative's voice, Kaiba's eyes grew sad. He sensed the aura of jealousy radiating from Mokuba, queer vibes of envy that coveted any invented images of their mother spending more minutes with him than his brother. Understanding that his sibling's emotions were overwhelming his mind, Seto sank to one knee. Sweeping the youngster up in a heartfelt embrace, the blue-eyed boy calmly began to contradict the illogical accusations that were made about him.

"Mother…she loved us both very much." the brown-haired male explained quietly, running his fingers through the volume of bluish strands he touched. "You know that, right? That she spent her life making us happy?"

"I know that." admitted the shorter child, throwing his arms around his brother's neck. "Honest, I do. I just miss her so much, though."

"I miss her, too." confessed Kaiba, his phrases nearly cracking under the pressure of his suppressed feelings. 

"Lots and lots?"

"As much as there are angel feathers in heaven."

Mokuba giggled, a sweet, youthful sound that made Kaiba's heart feel lighter "That must mean a whole bunch."

"It does." agreed the taller boy, nodding a bit. "Mother used to say that--"

"When she told us how much she loved us." finished the child with blue-green hair, his indigo eyes dancing with the prized mental picture of his mother gliding beside him, giving him a peck on the cheek while whispering the phrase that meant more to him than anything else. Sighing wistfully, he allowed something warm and wet to seep onto his cheek.

"No, don't…" whispered the elder brother, wiping the tear away with a flick of his finger. "Don't feel bad. I didn't mean to upset you. I just wanted to--"

"Mommy didn't die 'cause we took up too much of her time, right?" Mokuba interrupted, fixing his terribly pitiful eyes on his sibling. Sniffling, he tried to contain the rivers of guilt that gathered underneath his lids.

"No." responded Kaiba, gently shaking his head. "No, we didn't. Don't blame yourself for her death."

"But--But it feels like it's my fault!"

"How can it be?"

Violently shaking his head, a few more frustrated drops of water escaped from the shorter boy's orbs. "I don't know, but it is! It must be! It _has _to be!"

Delicately placing a hand over his brother's mouth, the older sibling attempted to console the whimpering male. "Don't do this, okay? Please don't cry. You didn't kill her, little brother."

"Then I guess God did." responded Mokuba darkly, staring off into the distance. "He can be really mean sometimes."

"That's not true, Mokuba!" Kaiba protested immediately, astounded by his sibling's lack of faith. "God _saved _Mother! He saved her from this place!"

An innocent look of hope spread throughout the younger child's features, the expression masking the personality of someone who had experienced far more than what any normal adolescent should. "You mean He helped her get away from Daddy?"

All at once, Seto's mind was thrust into a vortex of flashbacks, recollections of events that were so horrible, so positively terrifying, that he actually shivered in the heat of the afternoon. He could see himself in the expansive kitchen of the mansion, clawing the counters with one of his hands. Nails of his dug into the glossy surface, feeling certain that every time they scratched the white exterior, it would ultimately be their last. Hovering near his tender limb was a butcher knife, its sharp edge lusting for a taste of his childish flesh. Holding the blade was an illustrious man in his late thirties, an eerily composed person who muttered incoherently to fairy mistresses (individual head voices), a disturbed being that claimed to be Kaiba's father…

Hours of torture like that were inflicted on the brothers daily, with some episodes of horror that remained unique to each sibling, while other destructive events occurred only when they were together. Sometimes the brown-haired boy would be rudely awakened to the noise of his relative's screams, blood-curdling racket that echoed all throughout the large house he lived in. On other occasions, he found himself being pulled into his bedroom by his hair, shoved onto his carpet, and having rough, terrible hands explore the skin underneath his pajamas. Then there were _those _incidents…sick, twisted little affairs that made him hate every piece of himself, just literally _despise_ the core of his being so much that he wanted nothing more than God Himself to descend from on high and punish him for all the heinous crimes he committed. Although _he _wasn't the one who wanted to cut Mokuba open with paper clips, razors, or sewing needles, he was _still_ the one who was forced to do it. They were appalling duties that became mandatory to finish, courtesy of his psychotic parent. How far would their father go to cut the chords of their sanity loose? Would they have to be subjected to this kind of behavior for all the years to come? Not if Seto could help it. Mother once told him a wonderful tale, a glorious legend that he wished with all of his might that he could make the narrative a reality for his brother. All he had to do was get God to help them in the same fashion that He did when their Mommy needed an escape…

"Better than that." Kaiba responded, a ghost of a grin possessing his lips. 

"What could be better than getting away from Daddy?"

"Seeing Mother again."

Indigo orbs widened to a huge, gullible degree. "Can we really?"

Again, the brown-haired boy nodded. "Yeah, it's possible."

"But how? Mommy's not with us anymore."

"We're just going to have to go find her."

"But how?" repeated Mokuba, his phrase sounding more like a strained whine than a question. "We don't even know where she is!"

"God does."

"Why would God help us?"

"Because Mother said so." Seto stated matter-of-factly, his sapphire eyes regarding his brother coolly. " 'Member how she showed us how to pray at night? We'd get down on our knees and press our hands together, counting our blessings. Then, just before she'd leave, Mother would sing that little song about God-"

"You mean the one about Him and all the children of the world?"

Smiling happily, the eldest sibling replied excitedly, "Yes, that's it! Do you know it still?"

Moving his head up and down, the smaller child acknowledged his relative's words. "I'll never forget that song. Not in a million years."

"Good." commented Kaiba, fingering a lock of the shorter male's blue gray hair. A peaceful look washed over his features, cleaning the slate of his face while replacing the former expression with a look of odd serenity. "I know I'll always have her songs playing in my head." Dropping the dark strands, he extended an open palm to the younger individual. "Come with me, Mokuba."

"Where?"

"To heaven. The place God's going to take us to find Mother."

"Then we can all be together again?" asked the shorter male, energized by the precarious promise that all of them--his sibling, mommy, and himself--could magically meet up together in the clouds so that they could be a family again.

"Just come with me." repeated Kaiba, gazing intensely at the longhaired boy. "I swear everything's going to be all right."

Placing his entire stock of faith, love, and trust into his older sibling, the little child locked hands with Seto. Mokuba ignored the weird look of tranquility he saw in his brother's eyes, the dryness in his throat, and the unsettling feeling he had gnawing away in the pit of his stomach. He wanted so very badly for his loved ones to be reunited again that he didn't even notice that his older relative was escorting him onto the street in front of their home. 

"Jesus loves the little children," Seto started to sing, appearing to be under a dangerous state of hypnosis. "all the children of the world…"

Halting in the center of a road, the Kaiba brothers stood strong, awaiting the moment when the just and affectionate entity known as God would grace them with His presence. Keeping time with the music, the eldest of the duo continued to chant the hymn he memorized, the quality of his voice clear and unwavering. He was in a separate dimension of his own, a realm filled with a choir of angels that proved to be remarkably compatible with his lovely soprano voice. The other youngster, on the opposite side of the spectrum, was so overwhelmed with fear and anxiety that he squeezed his dear sibling's hand with all of his strength. Was this how everything was going to end for them? Did it have to be this way? Weren't there more humane avenues to dying that they could take other than sporting the fashion of road kill?

"Seto," whimpered Mokuba, still grasping his relative's limb tightly, "I'm scared."

"Hush, baby," Kaiba comforted as best as he could, offering the shorter adolescent a reassuring smile. "God's coming now."

Just as the longhaired boy turned his head forward, he caught a glimpse of a sports vehicle racing towards them. He couldn't see the driver, determine the model of the automobile, or any other major detail about the transportation device. All he knew was that some sort of contraption was heading straight for him and his brother, something so fast that only a magnificent creator could defy the speed of light to travel so quickly. Could it be…? Was it God Himself, arriving just in time to answer their prayers and take them to go see Mommy?

Joining in with his sibling's sudden inspiration to be musically inclined, Mokuba sang, "Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world…"

At the same time, Seto and Mokuba closed their eyes, lifting their voices to the Lord as their long-awaited rapture came and took them home.


	2. Daddy Dearest

Daddy Dearest

"Do it." ordered a cruel voice, abusing the power of authority.

Shaking his head rapidly, the brown-haired adolescent squeezed his eyes shut. His small jaws snapped closed, ramming the teeth he had together so hard that he felt as if they would shatter on impact. Cold beads of sweat dotted the young child's face, a flawless representation of pure and unbridled fear. Seto couldn't follow through with the actions that were demanded of him. He just wouldn't bring himself to do it. No longer caring how much physical, emotional, or spiritual terror was going to be exercised over him for being disobedient, he remained frozen in place. Father could carry out any depraved little fantasy he wished—stabbings with pins and needles, burnings with pokers from fireplaces, even bondage in the dead of winter—the blue-eyed boy would tolerate any kind of beating imaginable. But not this. Not this kind of trauma that involved an innocent person. Never would he be forced to do something so vile, so completely repulsive that involved his own brother…

"Do it now," the heartless tone repeated, containing a steely edge to it. "or you're going to regret the day you were conceived on." 

"I already do." confessed the blue-eyed boy shamefully, his head bowed between his shoulders. "Most of the time, I wish Mother never had me."

Wicked laughter reverberated throughout the large bedroom, chilling the shorter individual to the bone. "I know what you mean, little one. I often fell asleep dreaming for the same thing." 

Lifting his eyes to the ceiling, Daddy actually appeared to be sane at the moment. His dark green orbs started to shimmer, appearing to be absorbed in a fantasy that only his warped mind dared to concoct. Amazed that his dad could accomplish a serene, starry-eyed expression, Seto stared at him with big cobalt orbs. Father looked so passionate, so completely friendly, that the small child wanted nothing more than to run to his relative with open arms and bask in the radiant sensation of love he so desperately longed for. If only his parent's statements didn't sound like terrible death threats aimed at destroying his body and self-esteem…

"When your mother was still with us, I'd hold her in my arms and drift away into blissful slumber nightly. I was so content to be in the same room with her, on the same mattress, cradling the woman of my love. We were like high school sweethearts all over again, kissing and cuddling each other, our hearts filled with so much joy just because we were able to lie together." Seeming to be lost in the pleasure of reminiscing, the corners of the lovesick adult's lips began to rise. 

Startled at such a display of tenderness from someone who was generally violent, Kaiba found that he couldn't keep his emotions from overriding his common sense. Against his better judgment, he rushed up to his tormented father's side and flung his arms around the older male's waist. Maybe this wasn't such a monster of an individual to be with after all. Maybe this man, who had never ceased to delight in sadistically torturing his own children, was ready to evolve into a full-fledged parent. Thrilled with the prospect that they could finally become a prosperous household, the sapphire-eyed adolescent felt his own mouth tilt upwards. This was the first genuine look of happiness the small child was able to muster in years. All he wanted to do was share in this grown-up's elated state of mind, his hopes, and even his worst nightmares. More specifically, he craved adoration, someone patting him on the head and telling him how good he was, how beautiful and smart he was, how he could go anywhere in the world and be anything he wished to be because there was always someone right behind him, offering him so much devotion and support that it would be impossible for him to fail in life. Mommy was right. After infinite hours of sitting in the moonlight, praying to the celestial spirits for divine intervention, God had sprung into action at last. He had sent one of his archangels down to guard both brothers' hearts, protecting them from the evils that endangered their immortal souls. They weren't such bad children after all. Sunlight would shine in their lives again, allowing them to experience new memories with someone that had the potential to become extremely attached to them, just like Mother had when she was alive.

Still hugging his father with every bit of energy he possessed, Seto cried, "We'll love you, Daddy! Me and Mokuba can make you as happy as you were when Mommy--"

Out of the blue, the dreamy expression disappeared from the adult's visage, and his eyes turned cold and steely at the childish claim. Grabbing on to Kaiba's limbs, he ripped the slender boy's arms from his body and jammed a knee in his shocked son's mid-section. Disgusted by the child's attempt to replace his lover, the older male pressed both of his palms on the shoulders of his target. Bearing the cruel intention to hurt the harmless heir in his grasp, he shoved Seto backwards. Crashing to the hardwood floor, the brown-haired individual hit his head against the relentless surface he faced. Scrunching his frame into a tight, painful little ball, his watery vision was tainted by the sight of his father looming over him, eyeing him frigidly.

"You stupid, spoiled brats will _never _make me as happy as your mother did." spat the abusive male, inwardly enjoying the horrible look of anxiety on his child's face. Stalking over to the crumpled structure, he positioned a newly polished dress shoe over the boy's hands. "_Never_." he repeated venomously, lowering his foot onto the adolescent's fingers. "_Neither_ of you are even worth my time, much less love and attention." 

Kaiba had just started to mold his mouth into a wince when an atrocious amount of agony attacked his brain signals. Indicators of severe hurt were running haywire in his mind, prompting animalistic screams to be discharged from his throat. Excruciating pain gripped his body, trapping him in a distorted dimension where only the mists of shadows scurried rampantly across his skin and violated his vision. Listening to his own deplorable shouts wasn't even the worst of the entire encounter. Somewhere in the background, he could hear the terrified shrieks of another child, someone who sounded like they were undergoing more misery than he was. The other individual's yelling was high-pitched, uncontrolled echoes of hysteria that had to have belonged to none other than--

"_Stop it!_" bawled Mokuba, his voice mirroring the noise a banshee made at Halloween. "_Please, don't hurt him anymore! Stop hurting my niisan!_" 

Turning his attention to the younger child loudly proclaiming his despair, Daddy Dearest set his weapon of a limb on the ground. Wearing a crazed expression, the demented adult plastered a sick smile across his lips. Keeping his eyes fixed on the traumatized adolescent by the bed, their father jerked his foot into Kaiba's ribs. Clearly disturbed by the demonstration of rough treatment his brother was receiving, Mokuba buried his face in his lap. It wasn't long before the indigo-eyed male was reduced to a trembling mass of bones. Smirking in corrupt achievement, the man gave his trampled son one final thrash of his leg before he backed off. Scanning Seto's body, the grown-up noticed that some of the child's flesh had commenced to breaking out in patches of unattractive colors. Angry shades of onyx and amethyst distorted the exhausted adolescent's skin, tints that were so sinisterly formed that they resembled the work of an enraged abstract artist. Obviously pleased with the finished product his canvas board produced, the parent showed the boy his back, leaving the little male to twitch sporadically. Tapping the wooden boards with his heels, Daddy sauntered over the floor with light, purposeful steps. One brother down, another yet to go. 

Watching the mad man through half-closed lids, Seto realized where their parent would strike next. Working his mouth up and down, he attempted to speak, but no words came out. Phrases of his were stuck in his esophagus, hanging in suspended animation, circling throughout his mind in wild panic. He had to get the statements in his head out. He just had to. If he didn't, then his younger sibling would be--

"Mo-ku-ba…"croaked the injured blue-eyed boy, hoping he was speaking loud enough for his loved one to hear, "get up. You've got to do it."

By the grace of the good spirits, the longhaired adolescent responded in a shaky tone.

"I-I can't, Seto. I don't wanna see you get hurt anymore."

"I'm fine, though."

"Daddy kicked you so bad, though--"

"But I'm okay." lied the elder brother, masking all the hurt he felt inside and out. "It's not that bad." 

"No one could be after all that!"

"I am." 

"But--"

"Listen to me!" hissed the brown-haired boy, arriving at the dreadful realization that his voice might give out soon. "I'm alright now! Get up and leave me here!"

Petrified of the thought of being stripped of his one reason for living in this lifetime, Mokuba swung his head side to side. "No way! You know I can't ever do that!"

"Just do it!" commanded Seto, trying to be patient with his sibling's fears. "Go! Get out of here!"

"No, don't make me--"

"Now, before Daddy comes and--"

Before Mokuba's mind could register the weight of Kaiba's statements, the impending doom known as their father swooped in for the kill. Without even bothering to cover the child's mouth, the man tackled his other son, slamming the smaller boy onto his back. Panicking underneath the colossal weight of his parent, the youngster fought back as vehemently as he could. His miniature fists beat ferociously against his dad's barrel chest, desperately seeking a way to break free from his captor's grip. Wordlessly, the older male caught his kid's balled up hands in the flats of his palms. Seizing the longhaired boy's wrists, the adult slapped the fragile limbs he held against the ground. Transferring the quivering arms to one set of fingers, Daddy Dearest applied his other limb to stripping the indigo-eyed adolescent of the bottom half of his attire. Too terrified to utter a sound, Mokuba stared wide-eyed at the vulnerable flesh--his _own _skin--that was being exposed.

"_Not now!_" wailed the little child, on the verge of a nervous breakdown. "_Not here! Nooo!_"

A well-placed slap had the small youngster literally seeing starts. Groaning awkwardly, the petite male had to contend with blurry vision for the remainder of the ghastly experience. As he let his lids droop closed, he caught a glimpse of his older relative, cringing in what had to be a mixture of terrible aches coupled with watching helplessly as someone he loved so much became an object of nasty aggression. Succumbing to the fact that he would be a stigma to his father for the rest of his existence, the petite adolescent stopped struggling. Knowing that it was either now or never, the small child reserved the last of his strength to calm his brother into blissful surrender.

"Niisan…"uttered Mokuba, exchanging a heartbroken smile with his sibling, "give yourself up already. Just stop tryin' to get away and give it all up. It'll mean a lot less pain for us--"

Abruptly, the living quarters erupted into tragic howls, devastating commotion that tore apart whatever was left of Kaiba's heart. Covering his sapphire orbs as fast as he possibly could, he trembled violently as he rocked himself back and forth. Streams of water trickled through his fingers, the flood of anguish forcing the physical world around him to go numb. Cold, so cold…his body felt like an arctic wasteland, devoid of any real meaning or purpose in life. He imagined his very soul turning into thin ice, where he saw himself recklessly walking across the river of his soul just to fall in. That's what it seemed like he was doing…falling. Plummeting into oceans that were below zero in temperature. Plunging into torrents of frosty thunderstorms. Drowning in chilling temperatures that no other creatures dared to venture into. Frozen to a solid glacier of flesh. Drifting…he was wandering from one state of mind to another, discovering the boundaries of insanity and points beyond that. Reality was scary, Mokuba had practically handed his innocence to their demented father, and as for Kaiba himself…he did the direct opposite of what his brother suggested for him to try. As always, he found himself on the run, distancing himself from the plane of materialism to arrive at his own private escape from it all. As long as he kept on running, he'd never have to look back…unless something was frantically clinging to him, making him slow down…

"Father, why?" sobbed Seto uncontrollably, losing himself to the untamed nature of his heavenly hell, "Mommy went to God, but we're still here! Why can't be a family together? We love you! Why can't you understand that? Don't hurt us anymore, 'cause we love you, Daddy Dearest!"


	3. Loveless Lullaby

Chapter Three: Loveless Lullaby

"One, two, he's coming for you…"

Lifting his somnolent lids, the brunet stared groggily at the floor. Chills…he couldn't explain the icy sensations coating his insides, nor could he properly describe the emotions drowning his mind, but they were there, just like his sibling was in front of him now, only--

__

"Three, four, better shut the door…"

Seto, who was able to suppress his internal fatigue, lifted his fists to his eyes. Grinding the sleep out of his sapphire orbs, he shook his head a few times. He had to do that, since he obviously couldn't trust his own vision to tell him the truth these days--

__

"Five, six, impaled on sticks…"

"Mokuba," choked the brown-haired boy, still shivering from the sound of the morbid nursery rhyme, "Stop it. He--Daddy's not here anymore, so you don't have to be hurting like this."

Appearing to be locked away in a torture chamber, the child with long tresses continued to chant the awful melody. _"Seven, eight, loving to hate…" _he sang robotically, his young accent burdened with mentally ill attributes.

"Little brother?" called the older relative apprehensively. 

Staring out the window of their closed in space, the younger male tapped his fingertips against the base of the glass, almost as if he were keeping time to the music he echoed. Clearly, there was no one home in the body of the shorter person, for his body seemed to move on its own accord. Painstakingly, he dragged his little hand up the glossy surface, not even registering the potential danger his flesh was about to find itself in. 

"Oh, _Christ_! Don't!" begged Kaiba, reaching over to his best friend with a trembling palm. "Not after what happened to us today!"

Looking as if he actually heard the desperate plea the older individual was making, the small adolescent glanced at his sibling. For a moment, his features softened, and he allowed himself to smile. His gesture was wistful, but not devoid of love or adoration for his big brother. Speaking in a heart-wrenching whisper, he rasped the title of his relative.

"Seto-chan?"

Feeling a tad more relieved than he had been previously, the other boy grinned himself. "You okay there?" he asked, just to be sure nothing would possess his favorite playmate and force him to do something he would regret later.

Mokuba flashed him a sweet expression. "Yeah, I'll be fine."

"Don't ever scare me like that again, you hear me?"

"I won't anymore." promised the youth with blue green tresses. "It'll never happen again."

"That's good." the boy on the carpet replied, feeling a bit more at ease. "I can't take anymore of that kind of behavior." Sighing deeply, he brought his knees up to his chest and curled up into a cozy ball. 

"I know."

"It's not your fault, alright? I don't want you to start thinking it is or anything. I mean, I just get tired, so sick of all this--this--" Incapable of finding a better word for their situation, he used the one noun that was typical descriptive language for soap operas. "_drama_." 

"I know," repeated the shorter child, "and I'm gonna make it to where you don't hafta deal with that stuff."

Seto blinked in astonishment. "What are you talking about?"

It wasn't until the petite adolescent resumed singing the haunting music that Kaiba fully comprehended the meaning of his relative's phrases. "NO!" cried the brunet, practically in a tremulous scream, "DON'T DO IT! YOU SAID YOU WOULDN'T DO IT!"

Without heeding the statements his sibling was shouting at him, the longhaired child balled his hand into a fist and hurled his the limb through the transparent panel. "_Nine, ten, being raped again…"_


	4. Happy Valentine's Day

Chapter Four: Happy Valentine's Day

"What do want from us?" screamed the brunet in a fear-strangled tone. "What? What is it? I need to know!"

"God _damn _it, Set!" shouted the other teenager, his voice gripped by the terror of the moment, "I just want you to be okay, got that?"

"Tell me!"

"Tell ya what?"

"Just tell me already!"

"The fuck are you talkin' 'bout?" the blond asked, trying to make some sense out of an illogical reaction. Somewhere, somehow, the amber-eyed boy comprehended that there was no rhyme or reason as to what was going on. He just knew it. In his heart of hearts, he understood the one aspect that he refused to explore before. His acquaintance was more than just a little unwell. Gathering a shaken supply of wits, Jou clamped his hands over Kaiba's cheeks and forced him to look up. "C'mon, snap outta it! Ya can't freak out every time someone touches ya!"

"Say it!" demanded Seto. Desperation echoed in the chords of his voice, held his mind hostage, drove him to claw at the bedposts with untamed anxiety. It was as if he was fighting some unseen monster, a terrible creature that was responsible for wreaking havoc and chaos on his soul since the hour he was conceived. "Say why you do this to us!"

Gazing at his friend with glistening eyes, Wheeler dropped his limbs and knelt beside the bed, his heart weighing heavily in his chest. "I--" he stuttered, unable to mask the helplessness he felt, "I don't know what you--what you want from me. You know I'd do anything' for ya, but this--you're just--"

"Not what you wanted."

Blinking. Joey widened his shiny orbs, pained by what he heard. " Excuse me?"

"You don't love me."

Katsuya started to shake his head. "That's not true, ya know that's not--"

"What you desired for a child, I know." interrupted the brunet, lost and confused, twisted in the torment of his speech. Staring at the blond emptily, he added, "Mokuba, either."

Jonouchi narrowed his hazel orbs, honing in on the last comment made. "Wait a sec…how's ya brother involved in all a this?"

"Remember what you did to him?"

"What?"

"How could you forget?"

"Forget what? The hell are ya accusing' me of?"

Seto stared off into the distance, watching the wall like the story of his life was playing there, haunting him with memories he was forced to recall. His lips moved, but now words fell from them, at least none that Wheeler could hear.

"Speak ta me!" cried Katsuya, frightened by his comrade's incoherent mumbling. "If you're talkin', I can't hear ya!" Kaiba squeezed his eye shut. His mouth still rambled in its drunken slur, forming the dialogue of a substance abuser, or perhaps someone continuously tortured by his past-- "What was that?" questioned the amber-eyed boy, clearly disturbed. Set couldn't have said that. There was no possible way that he could even believe what he just blurted out--

"You had intercourse with him." repeated the brunet sadly. He was teetering dangerously on the verge of tears, but was capable of holding them inside. Fixing the blond with a watery look, his bottom lip trembled as he spoke, the words falling from his tongue like a busted dam. "You--you took him in front of me, in our favorite room in the house, right there by the window. All those stuffed animals, those blood-stained toys that we never played with again…"

Swallowing down the sickening taste in his throat, the honey-haired male sniffled back his heartache, sadness, the glorious madness that threatened to consume him whole. "Who--who did this to you?"

"You did, Daddy Dearest." answered Seto brokenly. A tear trickled down his cheek, sliding over the contours of his visage. 

Katsuya wiped his brow with the back of his hand. Cold sweat washed his forehead, plunged his emotions into subzero waves or horror, allowed him to tap into a realm where only nightmares rampaged through the spirits of defenseless children. With trepidation lunging at him from forsaken innocence, he inquired, "When was--how did this all happen?"

Silently, Kaiba bowed his head. "I--I don't--" He felt the pressure of a gentle finger keeping him from burying his chin against his chest, the unavoidable question clawing at him through the false boundaries of kindness. "No, don't make me…"

"I have to know." Jou whispered softly, flicking more drops from his friend's face. "You've gotta get it out."

"But it--it hurts to recall that." 

Sapphire eyes shifted to a pair of hazel ones, distraught and hellishly aware. In those twin vortexes of agony and remorse, Joey saw more than just a troubled and struggling teen. There was a little boy sitting in the shadows of a beautiful bedroom, hiding away from the world, disappearing from himself to escape into his mind. 

__

/That's it…/ the blond realized, bitter sorrow biting at his immortal soul, _/that was it all along. Set…he really _is _battling a beast, but not the normal kind a Halloween creature. This is more than that. It's a fight for his sanity, for the sake of his kid sibling and himself, just a whole huge war waged between him and what occurred years ago. And out of everything, more than anything else, he wants one thing. Freedom. Liberty from his childhood. Independence from the chains bindin' him to his history. A free will to come and go from town ta city without lookin' over his shoulder an' bein' scared that his dad's gonna strap a leash on him and drag him to hell. The very thing that I take for granted is something that he has spent his whole life searchin' for. I wanna be there for him. I wanna help him get what he's always wanted to. Most of all…I wanna show him what love is. If only I could give him that all by myself. If only I could…/_

"Please?" asked Joey tenderly. "I can't help ya if I don't know what's wrong."

He watched the brunet intently, the bold, brash businessman of a multi-million dollar tech industry, reduce himself to shaking. Whatever happened to the computer genius that never ceased to be a formidable opponent, someone so analytical and methodical that he was always at the top of his game?

Just when Katsuya was about to admit defeat, the blue-eyed male revealed, "On that day…"

"What day? Which one?"

"The one where people get flowers and candy, cards and gifts to show their affection to one another."

The blond had to swallow to keep himself from vomiting. A sacred holiday that is used for giving a warm "I love you" on had been turned into a fear festival. 

__

/No wonder he didn't wanna tell me 'bout that time, / thought Jonouchi forlornly, directing his attention to the sheets, _/the month a February went from a celebration of emotions to shattering any happiness he might a had. Damn it, damn it anyways…/_

"Happy Valentine's Day." spat Jou bitterly, cradling the broken child in his arms stripped of pride and dignity. 

Resting Seto's head in his grasp, Katsuya let a tear slide across his face as he watched a petal fall from a rose in a nearby vase.


End file.
